In the thick of Oscar season, the Alec Baldwin shooting story has returned like a nightmare Hollywood can’t rouse itself from - or perhaps a dreadful cautionary tale that refuses to be ignored.

The latest development, announced last week by Santa Fe’s District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, is that Baldwin is to be charged with involuntary manslaughter over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his western Rust in October 2021: Hutchins was killed by a live round fired from a prop gun by Baldwin during a scene. (Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armourer, is facing the same charge.)

Carmack-Altwies also said that David Halls, Rust’s first assistant director, has agreed to plead guilty to a charge of “negligent use of a deadly weapon,” after handing the loaded revolver to Baldwin before the shot was fired.

If Baldwin is found guilty, the consequences could be severe. The LA Timesreported that the jury would be allowed to choose between two involuntary manslaughter charges: one with a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison, and the other - enhanced for use of a firearm - with a minimum sentence of five years.

Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas described the turn of events as “a terrible miscarriage of justice,” adding: “’We will fight these charges, and we will win.” Gutierrez-Reed’s own lawyers were no less bullish. “Hannah is, and has always been, very emotional and sad about this tragic accident,” they said. “But she did not commit involuntary manslaughter ... we intend to bring the full truth to light and believe Hannah will be exonerated of wrongdoing by a jury.”

READ MORE:

https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/is-alec-baldwin-s-career-over-in-truth-it-already-was-20230131-p5cgs8.html?dicbo=v2-00a8c111dbe90a488febeb78f88af2c8

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